Not much effect on India Better solutions needed

With reference to Ayan Pramanik’s article, “H-1B issues may affect people but not companies: Expert” (November 11), the current US government started its term with a promise to prevent immigration of foreign nationals and ensure adequate job opportunities to its citizens.

However, it has realised the necessity to strike a balance between politics and economics. The US cannot prevent all immigration from India as software professionals provide essential support to the former’s economy. Software companies such as Infosys, Wipro and TCS enable the US to import software services from India. These companies already have offices in the US and employ the local population also. They cannot be asked to shut down abruptly, as this will render their citizens jobless and hamper economic growth.

Experienced professionals will invariably migrate to the US in search of more lucrative jobs. Indian software and other companies will absorb them for their skills. It is only the entry-level job seeker whose H-1B visa application may undergo more scrutiny. However, the very purpose of such scrutiny indicates underlying economic interest in permitting immigration.

Training skills have to be imparted on an ongoing basis. Changes in college curricula to impart software skills call for technical expertise, which can be provided only by importing software services from India.

Further, US restrictions on immigration from India will impact bilateral trade. The overall negative impact of beefing up issuance of H-1B visas to Indian immigrants is negligible.

C Gopinath Nair Kochi of the Income Tax Department to pay monetary rewards to such taxpayers.

I want to draw attention to a related subject: Penalty for non-compliance. An amendment to the Income Tax Act that will be effective from the assessment year 201819 provides for a minimum penalty of ~1,000 for delayed submission or non-submission of income tax returns. Penalty for non-compliance of such a rule should always depend on the tax payable. Individuals who do not pay their income tax dues and also do not submit their income tax return in time or do not submit it at all should be liable to pay the tax due, in addition to the penalty and the interest for delayed payment. This is a fair provision.

But suppose the tax liability of a senior citizen is zero and she has not submitted her return in time, how could she be asked to pay a penalty? The penalty payable should always depend on the tax due. If the tax due is zero, there is no case for imposing a penalty for a technical failure of non-submission of income tax return within the stipulated time. Citizens should protest the unfair amendment of the penalty for non-compliance. Narendra M Apte Pune Given the chronic air pollution in Delhi, the city is likely to meet the fate of Beijing, where bottled air (sourced from the Canadian Rockies) is being sold!

The three chief causes of pollution are automobiles, industrial emissions and stubble burning. The solution to automobile pollution is promoting the use of public transport. Switching to Bharat-6 grade of fuel is critical.

On stubble burning, machines such as Happy seeder are good but costly measures. Delhi’s stock of these machines is inadequate. Their stock has to be increased and the machines have to be made affordable for renting. Baling the straw is another good but overlooked solution; it can be used to generate biomass power or make cardboards.

To reduce industrial emissions, coal plants, for example, should switch to technology that lowers CO2 emissions.

C V Krishna Manoj Hyderabad